


Moon Sailing on the Water

by keepitdreamin



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Day 1, M/M, Ocean, merman tony, sciencebrosweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 03:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4084075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepitdreamin/pseuds/keepitdreamin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce accidentally summons a mermaid, er, man.</p><p>My first contribution to Science Bros Week 2015. June 8: Ocean</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moon Sailing on the Water

**Author's Note:**

> So the first prompt for Science Bros Week 2015 is Ocean. Where my mind ended up going was a merman au so... yeah. Hope you enjoy!

He needed to get away. From his mother's brave face. From the doctor's words. From the “I'm so sorry” and “malignant tumor.” It'd been hours and he couldn't stay in the house a minute more. Couldn't stand the cloying silence any longer. He could barely breathe, and he could feel the tears threatening to spill, every second getting closer and closer. So he did what he always did when he needed to get away. He ran. Ran as fast as he could down the familiar path to the beach. He could feel the tears finally break and spill out but now he didn't care. He was alone and crying was okay when he was alone.

Bruce finally collapsed at the end of the pier, exhausted and still crying. More like sobbing, which is what happens when your mother is dying and you can't do anything about it. He wiped his tears furiously, furious at the world, furious at cancer and doctors and himself for not being able to do anything. He should be able to do _something_. 

The necklace he always wore, the last memento of the father who'd left them when he was only 8, suddenly felt too heavy. He had told Bruce to protect his mother, made him promise, and he knew it was ridiculous, knew there was nothing he could do to stop _cancer,_ but Bruce still felt like a failure, like he'd broken the promise. And breaking a promise, even to a man who broke _all_ his promises, still felt terrible. Angry, at himself, at his father for having him make that stupid promise when he was only _8 goddamit_ , 8 years old is not old enough to be the 'man of the house', Bruce ripped off the necklace and threw it as far as he could into the ocean.

A while later, when Bruce's anger had drained and he was left feeling tired and sad, the moon emerged from behind the clouds. Bruce looked out over the water and was reminded of a sad song his mother used to sing to him when he was feeling particularly gloomy. “When I woke up, you were crying, in the dark next to me...” Bruce started singing absently through the tears, and the sadness of the song made him feel a little better.

-

Just below the surface of the gently lapping waves, Tony looked up with interest at the boy on the pier. Earlier, he'd been sitting, legs dangling off the edge, but now he was laying on his stomach, idly tracing patterns in the water. Tony much preferred this position because he can see the boy's face. His square jaw. His deep brown eyes. His curly mop of hair. He looked sad, which, Tony supposed, was why _he_ was here. A happy human couldn't summon a merman. 

Tears still fell from the boy's eyes, though they were infrequent and fewer now. It was those tears, those salty pinpricks of grief, that had drawn Tony here. Like blood draws a shark, tears draw mermaids. That was enough to get Tony in the vicinity, curious as to the source, when the boy had thrown the offering, which Tony had caught before it hit the bottom and promptly tied around his own neck. Only one more thing was needed… and _there_. The voice, low and troubled and singing of pain and loss, had called out to Tony and drawn him toward the pier, where he now waited, eyes trained on the boy's face.

Only a handful of people knew the actual summoning ritual for a merperson, and even fewer still actually believed in it. But plenty of ordinary people stumbled through it each year anyway. First, you needed moonlight on the ocean (or sea, or, in rare cases, a river or lake). _Check_. Second, you needed to cry, free and unbidden, over the water. _Check_. Third, you needed to give the water an offering, preferably a personal belonging that holds great meaning for you. _Check_. Fourth, you needed to sing. Any song would do. So many people were unaware of how close they'd been to meeting an actual merperson, if only they had _sung_ at the right moment. _Chec_ _k._

Tony flicked his tail. The spell was wearing on him; he'd have to make contact soon. Content with his initial assessment, that this was not a trap, just a lonely boy, Tony nodded to himself. _Wait's over,_ he thought, and, with another flick of his tail, he rose.

-

Bruce was understandably startled when a boy popped up out of the water right in front of him. Even more surprised because he was _hot_ and smiling up at him in a way that Bruce had only ever dreamed that a boy would smile at him. His eyes were the brightest green Bruce had ever seen, and Bruce found himself unable to look away. His attention was so focused on those eyes that he almost didn't notice when the boy's hand started moving up the arm that had been dangling off the pier. His other hand was pushing on the pier, and he was moving closer, up out of the water. And his hand had moved from Bruce's arm to his face, and suddenly there were wet lips pressed against his own.

That was when Bruce's brain shut down.

Boys did not kiss him, and hot boys _certainly_ did not kiss him.

He could feel the boy smirk against his lips, right before his tongue darted out and teased its way into Bruce's mouth. He let it happen, and, because the rational part of his brain- the part saying this just could not be happening, and he shouldn't just kiss strangers, and what **the fuck** was going on?- was out to lunch, Bruce kissed back. Until… Nothing.

At the sudden absence of lips and pressure, Bruce opened his eyes, and the boy was gone. He looked out over the water, brows furrowed, confused and more than a little dazed. _What had just happened? Who was that? And where did he go?_ His eyes scanned the water for a hint of the boy. He couldn't have just disappeared. Could he?

His attention focused, as about 20 yards out, there was a splash and glinting scales and- was that a tail? But it was gone too quickly to tell for sure. But still... No, it couldn't be. Mermen aren't real. And, even if they were, why would one kiss him? Humans didn't want to kiss Bruce, so why would a merperson?

He rubbed his eyes hard. He must have just imagined it. Must have imagined the whole thing. Some sort of coping mechanism. It must have been that… but… he touched his fingers to his lips, and they were damp and tasted of sea salt.

Bruce looked back out over the water and sighed.

-

_A month later_

“Sorry,” Bruce mumbled as someone bumped into him on the boardwalk. But instead of moving on, the person grabbed his wrist. 

“Hey,” the voice sounded happy, and Bruce looked up in surprise (not many people he bumped into were happy about it)… right into a wide smile and bright green eyes that he recognized. “I believe this is yours?” the boy asked, pulling a necklace over his head. 

Not just any necklace, Bruce realized. _His_ necklace. The one he'd thrown into the water last month. There was no wayanyone could have gotten that, not with how far he'd thrown it, or known it was his even if they had. Then he remembered the glint of scales and the tail, and no. That couldn't be it… Could it? He looked with wide eyes at the expectant face and gulped.

“Not- not anymore. You can keep it,” he managed, a frankly embarrassing amount of time later. The boy's eyes twinkled as he slipped the necklace back over his neck.

“Tony,” he introduced himself and held out a hand.

Dazed, Bruce shook it. “Uh, Bruce,” he replied.

Tony smiled, teeth shining like a string of pearls, and he repeated, “Bruce,” almost like he was committing it to memory. Bruce swallowed hard as he noticed Tony's accent, strange and foreign and beautiful and like nothing Bruce had ever heard before, and he _really_ wanted him to say his name again.

“Uhhh...” Bruce hesitated for a second. “Do- do you like ice cream? I-I mean,” he hurried at the quizzical tilt of Tony's head, “would you like to get some? With me?” He gestured to the ice cream truck that had set up shop a little farther down the boardwalk.

Tony's face lit up. “I'd love to.” He took Bruce's hand in his own and pulled him towards the truck. It felt natural and just _right_ to be holding Tony's hand and Bruce flushed happily as Tony further interlocked their fingers.

The idea of Tony being a merman whirled around his head, but that was impossible right? He might have just imagined that whole thing, how would he know? Then Tony- Bruce wasn't sure if he could read minds (was that a thing merpeople could do?)- started cheerfully humming the song Bruce had sung that night (how he made such a sad song cheerful was a mystery to Bruce); he was sure of it. That night hadn't been imagination. And Tony, with his bright, sea green eyes and excited smile, he was… something else. 

He put this out of his mind as they got their ice cream, hands still locked together, and as they ate. They sat on the edge of the pier, legs dangling off the edge, talking and laughing. Bruce loved Tony's laugh; it sounded like crashing waves. He wasn't sure if this was a trait common to all merpeople or just to Tony, but he loved it anyway.

“So,” Bruce started, once they had gotten down to the base of their cones. Tony took a bite and nodded his head, gesturing for him to continue. Bruce, who had gotten momentarily distracted by the way Tony licked the melted ice cream off his fingers, blushed and cleared his throat. 

“So,” he began again, “you're a…?” he stopped, unsure of how to phrase the question. 

Tony smiled and popped the last bit of cone in his mouth. “A merman, yes.” 

Bruce nodded in acknowledgment but didn't respond. Tony glanced sideways at him, looking worried for the first time that afternoon. “Is that a problem?”

As he looked out over the water, Bruce took the final bite of his ice cream and thought it over. _Was_ it a problem? Tony was a merman. A magical creature. Hell, _somehow_ he could change a fish tail to legs. He belonged a whole different world that Bruce knew nothing about. Was that a problem?

He turned to Tony, who's eyes were still clouded with worry, though outwardly he wore a confident and self-assured expression, and his mind was made up.

Bruce smiled, happy and clear. “No, it's not.” 

 

Tony threw his head back and laughed, eyes bright and sparkling like the water below, and Bruce leaned in, catching his mouth mid laugh. Tony tasted like ice cream and saltwater, and it was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Bruce sings is "Moon Sailing on the Water" by Mason Jennings, which is also where I got the title of this fic.


End file.
